Methods in molecular biology
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Circulating tumor cells (CTC) harvested in the blood of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are associated with certain clinical pathological parameters as well as patients' prognosis and response to chemoradiation. They are the source of distant metastases and their mechanisms of pathogenesis is complex. ⋯ The most commonly used is detection by immunomagnetic method. Although all these methods have limitations, they are helpful for understanding the pathogenesis of CTCs with potential applications in clinical managements in patients with ESCC.
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Surgery is the mainstay treatment for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A major development in surgical therapy for esophageal cancer in the past two or three decades has been the marked reduction in surgical mortality rates as a result of improvement in staging technologies, patient selection, perioperative support systems, and surgical experience. Minimally invasive techniques are also becoming widely adopted. Protocol for surgical management of squamous cell cancer of the esophagus is described herein.
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Tissue microarray (TMA) is widely used for identifying the expression of markers in many tissues from patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The technology is mostly used in immunohistochemical studies to test the expression of markers and oncoproteins in signalling pathway as well as targeting proteins involved in therapies for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Appropriate use of TMA sections needs consideration of labor, planning, and expertise involved. For the best performance, it is important to design the layout of the TMA as well as use whole-slide scanning for interpretation of the TMA sections.
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The simple applicability and facile target programming of the CRISPR/Cas9-system abolish the major boundaries of previous genome editing tools, making it the tool of choice for generating site-specific genome alterations. Its versatility and efficacy have been demonstrated in various organisms; however, accurately predicting guide RNA efficiencies remains an organism-independent challenge. Thus, designing optimal guide RNAs is essential to maximize the experimental outcome. Here, we summarize the current knowledge for guide RNA design and highlight discrepancies between different experimental systems.
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Whole-slide imaging (WSI) contributes to medical education, collaboration, quality assurance, examination, and consultation in pathology. The images obtained from WSI are of high quality and could be stored indefinitely. ⋯ The operation and basic principles of whole-slide imaging of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma are also presented. Common use of WSI will occur with modifications of the whole-slide imaging scanners to adapt to the workflows in diagnostic and research laboratories.